You know, when you’re losing, ’cause he’s losing,” Mr Trump told Politico magazine, according to a published transcript of their interview. “I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. They’re using war not to hold an election, but, uh, I would think the Ukrainian people ... should have that choice,” Mr Trump told Politico in the interview published on Tuesday. The Americans today are looking for a compromise,” Mr Zelenskiy said after meeting the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London. Mr Zelenskiy held talks with EU and Nato officials in Brussels on Monday evening, before flying to Rome to meet Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Leo XIV.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin with President of the European Council, António Costa, during a press conference at Government Buildings, Dublin, on Tuesday. A number of drones were observed by Irish security personnel in Dublin Bay at about 11pm on Monday last week. They were spotted close to the flight path of the plane carrying president Volodymyr Zelenskiy as it approached Dublin Airport. Mr Martin was speaking at a joint press conference with President of the EU Council António Costa during a visit by the former Portuguese prime minster to Dublin. “The recent violations of the airspace of EU member countries is reckless and threaten European security and regional stability,” said Mr Costa.

Traders also kept an eye on a bidding war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix over Warner Bros in the US. European shares ended flat on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious going into ‍the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Plans announced by Google to launch artificial intelligence-powered glasses led to Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica slumping, but Warner Bros shares are on the rise amid the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount. Rheinmetall, RENK and Hensoldt gained between 3.6 per cent and 5.9 per cent, lifting the sector index 0.9 per cent. ‌Warner Bros shares on Tuesday.

Internally displaced Palestinian children play between the ruins of destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighborhood in Gaza City on December 7th. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPAThousands of children have been admitted for treatment ​for acute malnutrition in Gaza since an October ceasefire that was supposed to enable a major increase ‍in humanitarian aid, the United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday. Unicef, the biggest provider of malnutrition treatment in ‍Gaza, said 9,300 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in October, when the first phase of an agreement to end the two-year Israel-Hamas war came into effect. These give Israel control of more than half of Gaza, including most agricultural land and the border crossing with Egypt. The lieut gen’s commitment to keep troops in Gaza appears to contradict the ceasefire agreement signed in October, which specifies that “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza”.

The nitrates derogation, which allows 7,000 Irish dairy farmers to spread more fertiliser on their land than their European counterparts, had been due to expire at the end of this year. The Government has spent months intensively lobbying officials in the European Commission, the union’s executive arm that proposes and enforces EU laws, for further leeway, to prolong an existing Irish derogation to nitrates rules. The nitrates derogation, which allows 7,000 Irish dairy farmers to spread more fertiliser on their land than their European counterparts, had been due to expire at the end of this year. The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, which represents dairy farmers, welcomed the continued recognition of Ireland’s “unique grass-based system”. The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) said obtaining the extension was a “relief” but a longer-term solution is needed.

A High Court judge has comprehensively rejected claims by jailed schoolteacher Enoch Burke that there were errors in an earlier judgment jailing him over his repeated trespass at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath. Mr Burke remained online even after the judge had given his judgment but interrupted again when the court resumed to continue other business. The judge ordered that Mr Burke’s microphone should be muted and at that stage Mr Burke picked up his belongings and left the screen. In his earlier judgment, the judge said: “There is something deeply unsettling about Mr Burke’s presence at the school. Confront the principal, confront the bishop, confront the school, confront the security guards; confront the courts.”His verbal aggression was one of the reasons for his dismissal, he said.

Pilots at Irish airline ASL Aviation Holdings will strike for 16 hours next Tuesday, December 16thPilots at freight airline ASL Holdings will strike next week in a dispute over trade union recognition and pay. Around 90 members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) at the company will strike for 16 hours next Tuesday, December 16th, the trade union has told management. Ialpa accused the airline of refusing to meet its negotiators at a crucial stage in talks on a deal covering union recognition, pay and conditions. Most of the pilots working for ASL Ireland are members of Ialpa, the organisation maintains. He stressed that the union remained available to meet ASL at any time.

The LÉ William Butler Yeats: did not fire on the drones as there were civilan aircraft in the area. Drones have rapidly become integral to modern warfare yet the Defence Forces remain without the basic tools needed to combat them. Naval vessels such as the LÉ William Butler Yeats do not have air search radar, electronic jamming equipment or other drone counter measures. The command and control structures of the Defence Forces – there is no single joint command over the Navy and Air Corps – may have further hampered any response. Beyond that, the wider issue that must be addressed is the role of the Defence Forces in a world that has changed significantly, making security and defence much higher priorities.

“That’s a very broad question, but not necessarily,” Mr McCabe said. Mr Mallon put it to him he had “agreed that the likely cause of this problem was human error” in the safety investigation. “We felt we were under duress to drive the investigation down the route of pilot mis-selection and not a technical difficulty with the aircraft,” Mr McCabe said. “That point was put to me, but not backed up by any evidence,” Mr McCabe said. “Aer Lingus are very much pushing the idea that air traffic control intervened.

The sentencing of former TD Colm Keaveney for driving under the influence of cocaine has been adjourned for the second time. Keaveney (54), Kilcrevanty, Tuam, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to the charge at Tuam District Court on September 9th as well as to two counts of driving with no insurance. The court had previously heard that Keaveney failed a roadside drug test in September 2023. The court heard he subsequently produced an invalid certificate and was later arrested by appointment and charged with driving with no insurance. On that occasion, he failed to stop after a collision with another vehicle and subsequently failed to provide a blood or urine sample.

Image: Getty Images/ iStockphotoThe Health Service Executive (HSE) is offering €750 in compensation to victims of a cyberattack that shutdown the health service’s IT systems and compromised the data of thousands of patients and staff four years ago. Conti, a Russia-based cybercrime group, launched its ransomware attack on the health service on May 14th, 2021. O’Dowd Solicitors, a Cork-based firm representing more than 100 people affected by the HSE data breach, received the cash offer from the HSE on Friday. The offer from the HSE comes after a recent high-profile case affirming damages to victims of data breaches. [ HSE cyber attack: More than 470 legal proceedings issued against health service after ransomware hitOpens in new window ]According to the HSE, it has “invested significantly” in cyber capability since the attack.

France's prime minister Sébastien Lecornu at the National Assembly in Paris on Tuesday. Photograph: Magali Cohen/ Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty ImagesFrench lawmakers narrowly approved the ‍2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing prime minister Sébastien Lecornu a crucial victory but at enormous political cost that could still threaten his fragile government. Socialists backed the bill after Mr Lecornu agreed ⁠to freeze president Emmanuel Macron’s landmark 2023 ⁠pension reform until after the 2027 presidential election. The government aims to cut France’s budget deficit – already one of the ‌euro zone’s largest – to ‌less than 5 per cent of GDP next year. A banner depicting the French president with the text 'Macron despises the Republic' during a demonstration against the state budget.

Then US President Joe Biden spoke at a state dinner at Dublin Castle two years ago. Photograph: PAThe Office of Public Works (OPW) is set to spend an estimated €10 million on event catering and hospitality services for State dinners, high level lunches and other State events at Dublin Castle, Áras an Uachtaráin and other venues. The OPW has issued the tender as Ireland prepares to host the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026. The OPW anticipates three to six suppliers will be appointed and specific contracts will be awarded using a rotation agreement. The tender states that companies seeking to tender must have an annual turnover of €500,000 or more for the last three years.

Former Irish presidential election hopeful Gareth Sheridan has said a Christmas party at which he was pictured with controversial ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson was “not a political event”. The party was hosted by Alp Pouch, a nicotine pouch brand launched by Mr Carlson. There were also celebrities in attendance, including country rapper Jelly Roll, who posed for a picture alongside Mr Sheridan. Mr Carlson was one of Fox News’s biggest stars until he was fired in 2023. Mr Sheridan was unsuccessful in his bid to get on the presidential election ballot paper earlier this year.

Protesters outside Leinster House calling on the Government for immediate emergency winter payment for people with disabilities. Photograph: Enda O'DowdDisabled people are “living in one room or going to local libraries to stay warm”, a protest outside Leinster House heard on Tuesday. The coalition called for an “immediate emergency winter payment” for disabled people and the introduction of a permanent cost-of-disability payment next year. Joan Carthy, a wheelchair-user and IWA advocacy manager, could not understand why the Government “doesn’t get the urgency of the call for the winter payment”. Last year’s payments “actually made a difference to people’s lives”, she said, adding that some disabled people are “living in one room or going to local libraries to stay warm”.